Kaluachchigamage Jayatillake ( si, කේ.ජයතිලක; 27 June 1926 – 14 September 2011), known as K. Jayatillake, was a Sinhala

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. He was born in Kannimahara,

Gampaha District Gampaha District ( si, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ta, கம்பஹா மாவட்டம் ''Kampahā Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administ ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and was a contemporary of

Mahagama Sekara Mahagama Sekera (Mahagamage Sekara) ( Sinhala:මහගම සේකර / මහගමගේ සේකර ) (7 April 1929 – 14 January 1976) Sri Lankan poet, lyricist, playwright, novelist, artist, translator and filmmaker. He is considered t ...

having studied in the same school. He married Sumana Jayatillake and was the father of four children. K. Jayatilake was one of Sri Lanka's topmost creative writers of the modern period of Sinhala literature. Using his close observations of village life, Jayatilake was a pioneer in the Sinhalese realistic novel. His first creative work, Punaruppattiya, a collection of short stories published in 1955, was well received. His award-winning novel and acknowledged masterpiece, Charitha Thunak, published in 1963, begins with a scene of peasants working in the field, evoking the intimate relationship between the villager and the earth. In this and other novels, Jayatilake reminds us also of the close-knit society of the village that is guided by common values.

Plays

*Parajithayo *Charitha Thunak *Punchirala *Punchiralage Maranaya *Rajapakshe Walawwa *Pitha Maha *Piya Saha Puththu *Aprasanna Kathawa *Adishtana *Kalo Ayanthe *Maya Maliga *Manahkalpita Vartavak Hevath Ardha Navakatavak *Mahallekuge Prema Katavak *Mathu sambandai *Ekagei Avurudhdha *Vajira Pabbatha * Katu Saha Mal * Diyaniya Apasu Yai * Punaruthpaththiya * Delowata Nathi Aya

External links

The living icon of Sinhala Literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayatillake, K 1926 births 2011 deaths Sinhalese writers Sri Lankan novelists 20th-century novelists